In President Trump's latest move against sanctuary cities, he said places like Chicago could lose all of their federal funding.

In a Thursday morning post to his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump wrote, "No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!"

Such a move would have a huge impact on public services in Chicago - services that help all Chicagons, not just migrants protected by sanctuary city policies.

While the president threatened to pull all federal funds for sanctuary cities, some of that funding is likely mandated by Congress – such as certain infrastructure projects – that he cannot unilaterally take away. Other grants he might have the power to strip from Chicago for programs completely unrelated to immigration.

Mayor Brandon Johnson's office released a statement on the threats saying in part, "The City of Chicago complies with all federal and state laws. Mayor Johnson's administration will vigorously defend Chicagoans from any unconstitutional or unlawful attempts to strip residents of the funding and services that they are entitled to."

Johnson testified on Capitol Hill earlier this year, defending sanctuary city laws alongside the mayors of Boston, Denver, and New York.

"Chicago is and always has been a proud city of immigrants. Generations of new arrivals, including the descendants of the enslaved during the Great Migration, created a vibrant city where one in five residents is foreign-born," Johnson said at the March hearing.

City of Chicago data shows the city spent $46.3 million of federal grants last year on the mission to house and provide other services to migrants.

It's not clear which programs would suffer the biggest monetary loss if Trump follows through on his threats, as some federal funding for Chicago is mandated by Congress.

Last year, the City of Chicago received almost $2.5 billion total in federal grant funding; only about 1.85% of that was actually spent on migrants, according to city data.

Among other things, the rest of that grant money has paid for things like:

• transit security ($12,125,000)
• domestic violence protection ($100,000)
• a sexual assault program for violence against women ($143,000)
• and chicago's summer food program ($276,000).

Johnson's budget for this year allocated $2.7 billion dollars in federal grants for 2025. It's not clear what would happen if that money is pulled.

The City of Chicago is not the only local government body that relies heavily on federal funding. In 2024, Chicago Public Schools received $1.3 billion in federal funds, and the Chicago Transit Authority expects to receive nearly $2 billion in federal funding for the Red Line expansion.

"The Department of Law will continue to assess any correspondence from the Trump administration that may impact Chicagoans in any way," the mayor's office's statement concluded.

Pritzker called to testify before Congress on Illinois' sanctuary laws

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) tweeted Thursday afternoon that he is calling on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to testify before the committee about the state's sanctuary policies. He also called on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and New York Governor Kathy Hochul to testify.

"President Trump is preparing to take executive action to withhold federal funding from sanctuary states. Working alongside President Trump, Congress must ensure federal immigration law is enforced and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities," the tweet read in part.

In a statement, Governor's office spokesperson Alex Gough called Comer's request "another partisan dog and pony show."

"Illinois' Trust Act – which was signed into law by a Republican – is fully compliant with federal law and ensures law enforcement can focus on doing their actual jobs while empowering all members of the public – regardless of immigration status – to feel comfortable calling law enforcement to seek help, report crimes, and cooperate in investigations," Pritzker said. "We are reviewing the request for documentation and the Governor is evaluating whether he should take time from his busy schedule serving the people of Illinois to educate the House GOP on these matters."

Early in his second term, Trump turned his ire toward Chicago and other sanctuary cities. His pick for border czar, Tom Homan, warned Chicago in January that it would be "ground zero" for mass deportations once Trump took office. Homan warned the Trump administration would flood Chicago with ICE agents "looking for criminals and gang members."

Chicago adopted its Welcoming City Ordinance decades ago. The ordinance prohibits Chicago police from cooperating with federal authorities in any immigration enforcement orders. The city is, however, required to help ICE whenever the agency presents a judicial criminal warrant for arrest.

The City Council recently blocked an effort by some of the council's more conservative alders to water down the ordinance and allow CPD to work with federal immigration agencies in cases where undocumented immigrants have been arrested or convicted of certain crimes.

Johnson has said Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance helps promote trust and cooperation between police and immigrant communities by reducing fears of deportations.

More broadly, the Illinois TRUST Act, enacted in 2017, restricts the ability of local law enforcement statewide to participate in federal immigration enforcement.